The influence of intelligence in the war against terrorism in Iraq

Abstract

Since 2003, the intertwined problem of countering terrorism and insecurity has had a central role in the mindset of both Iraq’s leadership as well as the citizens of Iraq. Over the past fifteen years, Iraq has gone through dangerous stages of instability resulting primarily from lack of security and the creation of socio-political conditions in various parts of Iraq that have become supportive of, and breeding grounds for, terrorist organizations. This has been exemplified by the ease with which the Islamic State was capable of occupying large swaths of Iraq’s territory. The absence of a national security strategy has thus resulted in the security crisis in Iraq. However, the re-building of Iraq’s security forces and intelligence agency on new basis has contributed to defeating the terrorist organizations in Iraq